Maya Sato-Klemm is a 5th-year Kinesiology student in the interdisciplinary sciences stream, minoring in biology with a focus in neurobiology and serves as a research assistant under Dr. Tania Lam in the Human Locomotion Laboratory, which is situated in UBC’s spinal cord injury research centre, known as the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD).
Maya first met Dr. Lam in KIN 190 (Anatomy and Physiology), where she became so engrossed in the subject that she regularly attended out-of-class office hours to ask more in-depth questions. That summer, she began to volunteer in Dr. Lam’s Human Locomotion Laboratory. Working there with fellow researchers helped her to expand her understanding of academic research and to learn to “develop new project ideas” and collect data. Her experience there “ignited her passion to learn and grow” in the field. “During my time in this lab, we have undertaken such a wide range of research that I find I am learning enormous amounts of new information, not solely with regards to current literature, but also in research-related methodology, analysis, and presentation skills,” notes Maya. After volunteering that summer, she transitioned to working as a Work Learn Research Assistant.
One of the biggest takeaways Maya from working in Dr. Lam’s lab was learning about existing issues of inclusion and equity in Canadian society. “I have come to better understand that it is not a person’s “disability” that prevents them from achieving their goals in our community, but the discriminatory way we have built this world to favour those with other bodies,” comments Maya. “I deeply believe in this message and have been inspired by my research to use the resources I have to bring awareness to those around me.” During the pandemic Maya was able to incorporate her artistic skills by drawing her team members and others in different ICORD labs to depict them all together in one location. Her drawings helped everyone “connect when they couldn’t see each other in-person in a COVID-safe way.”
Maya will be publishing her first academic article as lead author in her 4th-year self-directed study on pelvic floor muscle training (PMFT). Titled “Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pelvic Floor Muscle Therapy in the Spinal Cord Injury Population: A Cross-sectional Survey,” her study examines the “knowledge, attitude, and practice of PMFT in people with spinal cord injury (SCI).” Maya reveals that not many people with SCI have tried PMFT, despite many “being aware of and having favourable attitudes towards PFMT.” At the 50th Annual Alberta Motor Control NeuroHike Meeting, she gave her first academic presentation about a study investigating and characterizing the activity of pelvic floor muscles during running. The purpose of the study was “to create a baseline for further research into pelvic floor muscle training in able-bodied individuals and in people with spinal cord injury.” Maya disclosed that she had “extreme stage fright,” but practiced intensely beforehand which ultimately “fueled her for future challenges ahead.”
Maya’s time at UBC has been nothing short of an insightful experience. “From the get-go, all my classes have been incredibly interesting and applicable to my life,” states Maya. “I never would have taken a sociology class had there not been two mandatory courses offered in kinesiology. I have found through this degree that there is infinite information out there and hence, infinite opportunity to learn and grow.” Maya will graduate with her BKin in May 2022, and then plans to take a gap year to pursue her passion for visual arts before enrolling in medical school.
